Bolstering Contact Center Training and Certification, RCCSP Adds IAOP's Certified Outsourcing Professional designation

Professional certifications are extremely valuable in service-driven environments such as contact centers, where having qualified professionals managing aspects of the customer support strategy is of utmost importance RCCSP Professional Education Alliance CEO Nina Kawalek points out.

This is especially true in the global outsourcing market, a growing industry that is demanding more and more experienced and knowledgeable call center professionals.

Longtime observers and insiders report that the outsourcing field, perhaps more than any other in the contact center industry has the greatest transferability of skills between firms and the need for uniform contact center training and certification. The environments, responsibilities and job requirements are very similar from one company to another. There are ongoing mergers and acquisitions that require quick and seamless meshing of partner firms—and employees--to rapidly capture the benefits from these deals. At the same time career-minded professionals move between outsourcing outfits. The competitive, contract/program-focused, need-to-move-fast pace demands that outsourcer recruiters have the tools to thoroughly, readily and rapidly assess applicants so they can have the professionals in place when they are needed.

The RCCSP Professional Education Alliance has responded to global outsourcing characteristics and job trends by adding the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP)’s Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP) designation to its comprehensive portfolio of certifications for call center industry management professionals. The COP designation will allow the RCCSP Professional Education Alliance to service the certification needs of domestic and global contact center outsourcing services buyers and providers.

“The COP designation powerfully demonstrates that individuals possess the experience and knowledge required to design, implement and manage outsourcing initiatives that have a high probability of achieving an organization’s intended outcomes,” says IAOP Chairman Michael Corbett. “With the increasing global nature of outsourcing, the common framework that COPs provide is critical to getting optimal results by bringing all parties in the outsourcing relationship together on the same page following the same proven management practices.”

The Certified Outsourcing Professional designation expands RCCSP’s already-robust portfolio of contact center certification credentials. These include the Certified Contact Center Professional (CCCP), Certified Contact Center Supervisor (CCCS), Certified Call Center Manager (CCCM), Certified Call Center Engineer (CCCE), Certified Workforce Management Professional (CWMP) and Certified Quality Management Professional (CQMP).

Incorporating the COP designation to its growing list of call center certifications made perfect sense for RCCSP. The COP certification process follows the same approach used in all RCCSP certification designations. Namely they are based on process frameworks and employ rigorous assessment processes to evaluate candidate competencies and real-world experiences and performance. Preparatory training courses impart proven management practices and are taught by industry authorities.

“Outsourcing is an important mainstream business practice that shouldn’t be learned by trial and error,” says RCCSP Professional Education Alliance’s Kawalek. “The COP designation is certainly a welcomed addition to RCCSP’s portfolio of certifications because it provides the framework, standards, and best-practices needed to do outsourcing right.”